Eric Garcia had a message for his critics after Spain’s 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in the Nations League on Sunday night.
The Barcelona center-back produced a fine display at center-back alongside Inigo Martinez as Spain moved to the top of their group with the win.
| Eric García vs Czech Republic.
• 124 Touches
• 110/115 Passes
• 5/7 Long Balls
• Most Accurate Passer (96%)
• 1 Dribble
• 0 Times Dispossessed
• 3 Interceptions
• 4 Ball Recoveries
• 4/6 Ground Duels Won
• 4/5 Aerial Duels Won
• Most Duels Won (8)
• 1 Foul Won pic.twitter.com/0i7dEA2lrQ— Barça Buzz (@Barca_Buzz) June 12, 2022
Garcia has come under scrutiny this season both for Barcelona and the national team but told reporters after the the match he’s not bothered by his criticis.
“There will always be criticism. I’ll focus on my game. Constructive criticism is welcome,” he said. “As for the others, I don’t pay attention to it so don’t waste your time.”
133 – No player has attempted more passes in a single UEFA Nations League 2022/23 match than Eric Garcia against Czech Republic , completing 96.2% of them (128 out of 133). Start. pic.twitter.com/scYEnxU2YI
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) June 12, 2022
The Barca defender also insisted he had always felt supported by coach Luis Enrique and the Spain supporters and went on to offer his thoughts on the match itself.
“We finished with victory, in an incredible atmosphere and now leaders [of the group], which is the most important thing,” he added.
“We played a good game, correcting the mistakes in Prague, even so they surprised us with some actions but we had extra energy from the fans that pushed us on.”
It’s definitely been a mixed season for Garcia on his return to Barcelona and he’s not guaranteed a place in the starting XI at the Camp Nou in 2022-23.
Ronald Araujo and Gerard Pique seemed to be Xavi’s preferred partnership last season, while Andreas Christensen is set to arrive in the summer and speculation persists that Barca will try to land Kalidou Koulibaly.
